Comments on: How to save paint – artists manual

By: Joye Hickton

Joye Hickton — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:31:23 +0000

This is a great blog entry, i like this website.

By: Ruth Read

Ruth Read — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:54:24 +0000

How to save acrylic paint

Hi, my daughter Richelle asked me about how to save paint other than oil paint.
So I have an artist friend years ago that told me the following:
If you are going to paint with acrylic paints, it is best to use one of those containers with the snap on lids. It will come with a thin sponge in the bottom. The idea is to keep the sponge wet so that you can squeeze out your paint on the sponge and the paint will stay moist. The sponge has to stay very moist.
That is great except everyone was having trouble with black mold growing in the sponge.
I will never forget how simple the remedy for this was! Just add a drop or 2 of bleach into the water and soak the sponge in it. Not so much bleach that you can smell it. Don’t forget to add bleach when you add water. This container will keep in the fridge.
You can adjust the amount of bleach if you see mold.
Since I rarely use acrylics I will have to take her word for it and I can’t remember her full name. I think her first name was Judy.

By: Daria

Daria — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:45:46 +0000

Thank you for the Great tip Richelle, I am sure many artists who work with oils will appreciate this kind of money/paint-saving advice!

By: Richelle

Richelle — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:31:28 +0000

Hi, I am not sure that this would work with pens or other paints, just oils. My mother will sometimes add a little linseed oil on the paint before she snaps the lid. She found that cellophane was nothing but a mess. She only uses the oil if she will be leaving the paint for more than 6 months. That is not often.

Also I asked her and the fridge does not work. It needs to be in the freezer. I will ask her if she has other tips for other paints.

By: Marilyn Lowry

Marilyn Lowry — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:27:01 +0000

Does this work for other types of mediums besides oils?

By: glenda

glenda — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:54:13 +0000

These are such useful tips.I was really not aware that there are ways in which one can save paint.Thanks for enlightening us on this topic

By: Monique

Monique — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:26:31 +0000

That’s a pretty interesting tip. I never would have thought to put it in the freezer. Thanks a lot! It’s also interesting that colors seem to have different drying times. I don’t think I’ve painted enough to realize that!

By: Benji

Benji — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:54:52 +0000

In this age it makes sense to conserve and reuse everything – from fuel to plastics and now even paint! Very practical tip. Does the refrigerator trick work with things other than paints? What about pens and sketch pens that I may not use for a long time?

By: venkat09

venkat09 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:41:15 +0000

This is a great piece of work. Not every time one can get to see such kind of great stuffs. It a treat to the eyes. Keep up the good work.

By: Vani Prakash

Vani Prakash — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:37:55 +0000

The best way to save paint is to snap the lid….put a small cellophane on top to tightly seal it and put a little medium on top. Keep the paints in refrigerator.It will last long with the medium on top.